Staff Photo
 
 
When Camp Hinds went through its building boom in the thirties and the six provisional campsites were established, staff cabins were erected in each of the troop sites and more cabins were built to house the central staff.  Similar plans were followed for these cabins, but there were variations in the placing of the front door, windows and wood stoves. These buildings all had screened windows and wooden shutters, but no window glass. Yes, every cabin had a steel wood-burning stove to keep the staff men warm and cozy! Summers must have been colder in the thirties than they are now. Many of the cabins still show signs of charring in the corner where the stove glowed red, and a round hole where the steel stove pipe exited through the wall.

The six provisional sites each housed three or more leaders in their cabins until the growth of chartered-troop camping cut back on provisional registrations. As those sites were lost as staff cabins, more housing was needed.  Byrd cabin and MacMillan cabin were removed from their sites, the former to the road next to Boone and the latter to the waterfront behind Kennebec cabin. Conrad Metivier hauled that one using the truck, with logs as skids under it.

In a typical summer the Camp Director lived in Pine Tree cabin, the watercraft director and his assistant lived in Androscoggin, near the swimming area. The boating staff lived in Chipmunk Point cabin, the craftshop staff in Kennebec cabin, the Scoutcraft staff at Wilderness cabin. The Senior Camp staff was housed in that site’s leader’s cabin, the Nature crew in the Nature Lodge and the shop director in Skid Ridge cabin.

Of course, this whole plan was subject to change, as in the fifties when Program Director Bernie Estey and his wife, Shirley, spent their summers in the chef’s quarters behind the kitchen store room and the chef, Floyd Gilmore, occupied Androscoggin cabin.

By the sixties the staff began to outgrow the available cabin space, so not only did a number of younger staff members live in tents in the Peary site, but Program Director Frank Maguire spent five summers sleeping in “Nonesuch” tent, located between Kennebec cabin and the Rec Hall.

Staff were housed in the second floor of the Maintenance building, in the Cadigan Lodge when it was used as the Nature Lodge, and of course the nurse had her own quarters at the rear of the Health Lodge.

There was once a larger staff cabin located between the dining hall and the council ring, occupied some years by kitchen staff members, but around 1950, when the Training Center was being developed, that cabin was rolled or skidded out of camp and relocated beside the Training  Center as a garage for the camp truck and shelter for the well.  The names of former staff members can still be seen written on the walls inside that building.

Between 1978 and 1980 Ken Cole had two rough cabins built in the area of Boone field, originally named Patton and Halfway House.  Each was originally a combination of wood and canvas.  Halfway house was moved to Scoutcraft for a storage building in the mid 80's and eventually was demolished.

Additional housing has been developed with the arrival of the “condos”, once tourist cabins on route 1 on the Scarborough-Saco line.

Gypsy Palace and Shady Acres were introduced in 2000.  (So much for the tradition cabin names.) They were built in a cooperative effort with the Lewiston Regional Vocational School. Both were built using different building strategies: Gypsy Palace - The floor and wall sections and trusses where built by LRVT.  The sections were shipped to Hinds and assembled on site.  Shady Acres - This cabin was built in two halves (including roofing sheathing).  The two halves were shipped and assembled on site.  Both cabins were erected under the direction of the Ranger Bob Gosselin with the assistance of the camp staff.
 


 
Androscoggin Cabin - 2010
Androscoggin Cabin - 2010
New Androscoggin Cabin - 2018
Ranger Fred Foster at Boone Cabin
circa 1950
Ray LeClair at Boone Cabin - 1986
Boone Cabin - 2010
Boone Cabin - 2010

Destruction of Boone 2018
Byrd Cabin in Byrd Campsite - 60's
Byrd Cabin in Byrd Campsite - 60's
Byrd Cabin - 2010
Byrd Cabin - 2010
Chef's Cabin - 2010
Chipmunk Point Cabin - circa 1950
Chipmunk Point Cabin - 1953
Condo #1
Condo #1
Condo #2
Condo #2
Condo #3
Condo #3
Condo #4
Condo #4
Gypsy Palace
Kennebec Cabin - 2010
Kennebec Cabin - 2010
MacArthur Cabin - 1952
Troop 22 leaders in MacMillan 1959
MacMillan Cabin in Campsite
Patton Cabin aka Wilson - 2010
Peary Cabin - circa 1950
Peary Cabin - 2010
Peary Cabin - 2010
Pershing Cabin in Campsite
Pershing Cabin - 2010
Pine Tree Cabin - 1974
Pine Tree Cabin - 2008
Pine Tree Cabin - 2008
Presumpscot Cabin - 2010
Presumpscot Cabin - 2010
Shady Acres - 2010
Skid Ridge Cabin - 2010
Wilderness Cabin - 1986
Wilderness Cabin - 2010
Wilderness Cabin - 2010
This garage is a former staff cabin

Typical cabin inside view




Page design and layout by:
Dean B. Zaharis
Created: November 28, 2010
Last Update: March 26, 2022
Send comments to:
FriendsOfHinds@gmail.com